Protesters in Hoceima on 18 May, the day of the biggest demonstration yet during a year of protests.
Photograph: Therese Dicampo

In Hoceima’s Mohammed VI Square – the scene of year-long unrest in this clifftop city in northern Morocco – a giant rainbow can be seen in the sky above the Mediterranean.

On the ground, however, the lives of the ethnic Amazigh people in the impoverished Rif region are less colourful. Officers in riot gear pack the square in preparation for protests around the anniversary this week of the death of a local fishmonger, Mouhcine Fikri.

Fikri was crushed to death in the back of a rubbish truck in 2016 as he tried to retrieve his catch, which had been confiscated and binned by the police. The truck’s mechanical crusher killed him in a street close to the square, sparking a popular uprising that spread nationwide.

It gave impetus to the Hirak ash-Shaabi, a protest movement that presented the biggest challenge to authorities since the 2011 Arab spring, when the king offered concessions in the hope of curbing dissent. Morocco has responded by arresting Hirak’s leaders, jailing journalists and brutally cracking down on protesters.

It has also led to an exodus of persecuted Rifians and unemployed young people, many of whom have been attempting to reach Europe. This summer, the number of refugees and migrants risking the journey between Morocco and Spain rose sharply. In August, nearly 600 people were rescued off the coast of Tarifa in one day.

According to the latest figures released by Frontex, the EU’s border agency, “in the first eight months of the year, the number of migrants crossing into Spain [mainly from Morocco across the strait of Gibraltar] stood at an estimated 13,600, nearly three times the figure from the same period of 2016”.

European officials are watching developments with interest. After successfully staunching a stream of immigration through the central Mediterranean via Italy and through the eastern Mediterranean via Greece, Brussels does not want a new influx to open up to the west.

Quick guide

How has Europe dealt with its migration crisis?

How did the crisis arise?

War, economic rout, insecurity and climate change on Europe's southern and eastern rim have combined to send millions of people fleeing – some escaping conflict, others seeking better prospects. More than 1 million arrived in Europe in 2015 alone.

How did the EU respond?

The migration crisis was one of the EU's biggest ever tests. While Germany initially adopted an open-door policy, leaders have striven to come up with solutions to staunch the flow, mindful of the dramatic impact of mass immigration on domestic politics.

What did they do?

The EU reached deals with Turkey and some north African countries to return migrants home, in return for development aid and other EU-funded programmes. Italy has also worked hard with Libyan authorities to block the flow of migrants through the north African country.

What is the upshot?

The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and entering south-eastern Europe has fallen sharply this year. But the EU has been criticised for in effect "bribing" poor countries to do its border management, and for creating an ugly bottleneck in north Africa in which abuse of destitute people has been rife.

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Morocco is already host to one of the long-term immigration flashpoints on Europe’s southern flanks – the heavily fortified enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which have become ever harder for Africans to access.

Now the situation in Rif risks encouraging a new wave of young, marginalised Moroccans to head north.

El Mortada Iamrachen, a 30-year-old former imam of the local mosque and prominent activist, was jailed in June because of his support for Hirak. He said his father was so shocked that he died on the same day his son was taken to jail in the capital, Rabat.

“The city of Hoceima lives in a state of sadness and anger – unemployment, lack of financial resources, drugs, secret immigration and arrests have all contributed to this catastrophic situation,” he said in an interview in the city. “Our families suffer and when we go out, they do not know whether we will return home or go to jail.”

The funeral of Iamrachen’s father in June at a cemetery near Hoceima. Photograph: Thérèse Dicampo

The sudden death of Iamrachen’s father meant the authorities felt compelled to release him, but many – including the protest leader, Nasser Zefzafi, remain behind bars. At least 400 people are believed to be in prison in connection with Hirak, most of them in Ouchaka jail in Casablanca. Some have gone on hunger strike.

The movement began after Zefzafi called for protests over Fikri’s death. Mohammed VI Square became a frequent scene of protests, including on 18 May when the citizens of Hoceima staged their biggest demonstration, chanting for “freedom, dignity, social justice”.

The crackdown began in late May with a series of arrests. The protest on 20 July in the square was disrupted by riot police wielding batons and using teargas. Imad el-Attabi, a 22-year-old who was injured that day, died early the next month. Since then sporadic protests have taken place in other cities in the Rif region and protesters are organising demonstrations for the anniversary of Fikri’s death this week.

The nearest university is in Oujda near the Algerian border, about 160 miles (260km) away. Those with cancer need to make a 12-hour journey by bus to go to Casablanca for treatment – not many can afford a plane ticket.

“People prefer to go to Spain – to go to Europe – because there’s no work here,” Ben Aissa said.

She was arrested twice in June and again in September and is now waiting for her trial. “I’m accused of livestreaming the demonstrations on Facebook, inviting others to come out,” she said. “I have no fear because I am demanding my rights, but my father and my mother are afraid. They cry.”

Naoufal el-Moutaoukil, whose brother Ilyas has been in jail since June, said the repressive measures in Hoceima were forcing many to flee.

“Emigrating remains the only option, which involves a great deal of risk,” he said. “Crossing [the] strait of Gibraltar is not a game … There are some who arrive in Spain and there are some who die. They leave their country because they have no future in Morocco.”

The Guardian met refugees in the Spanish cities of Algeciras and Tarifa who had fled persecution in Hoceima earlier in the summer. Two brothers, 28 and 19, and their two cousins, both 21, were among those rescued from the Mediterranean in August. They arrived by jetski from Plage Souani, having travelled roughly 110 miles (180km) across the sea.

“It was four of us on a jetski. It took us six hours to come from Hoceima to Motril,” said one of the four Rifians, who were seeking asylum in Spain. “The Moroccan riot police beat us up during the protests. I have marks on my hand. [And] we left for work. There is no job in Rif.”

The tense atmosphere in Hoceima is such that this reporter was interrupted by plainclothes officers in the middle of the interview with Iamrachen, escorted to Casablanca by three officers and deported to London. En route from Hoceima to Casablanca, the Guardian witnessed the scale of impoverishment in Rif – with roads in disrepair, a lack of basic infrastructure and destitute villages.

Sherif Mansour from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at least three journalists were behind bars because of their work reporting from the region, and at least three more were deported this year. “Morocco is witnessing a dramatic reversal on press freedom,” he said.

In September, Human Rights Watch criticised the Moroccan king for brushing off evidence of police abuse in Hoceima. In his Throne Day speech in July, Mohammed VI for the first time addressed the troubles, criticising lack of development in the region, but defending security forces for “bravely and patiently fulfilling their duty”.

On 29 July, he pardoned 42 members of the Hirak movement but many senior figures are still in jail. “The real problem is the king,” said one former prisoner who asked not to be named. “People are beginning to talk about him but everyone is scared. He is the real problem in Morocco.”